


A Drop in the Ocean

by LadyBaratheon



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Boats, Café, M/M, Seaside, mermaid, mermaid!loras
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-04-14 01:01:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4544118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyBaratheon/pseuds/LadyBaratheon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After an argument with his brother leaves Renly stranded in the ocean in the middle of a storm, he finds something, or someone beneath the waves that was only thought to be legend, and he is beautiful.</p><p>Loras is a merman habiting the waters around the Isle of Tarth, by law, he is prohibited from being seen by humans, but when one literally falls into his life, he can’t seem to forget him.</p><p>It’s a RenlyxLoras mermaid AU – I hope it’s not really cliché and cheesy (but would it be all that bad if it was)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just love mermaids at the moment, sorry not sorry

You’re useless, Mother and Father would be ashamed of you!

The words of his last argument with Stannis rang through his head. He’d forgotten to lock the Café again, it’d been flooded by a storm again, Stannis had gotten angry at him, again. But he’d never been that angry, never brought their parents into it. 

That’s how he’d ended up where he was now, stranded in the middle of the ocean, a storm on its way. Renly loved the sea, loved how it could calm his head, but the hurt he had felt from Stannis’ words had pushed him past reason – he should have never taken the tiny speed boat out with such dark clouds forming overhead. 

The boat was rocking back and forth violently as the waves grew choppier beneath it, the rain getting heavier by the minute. He was way too far out to get back to Storm’s End before the storm properly hit, the only land in sight was Tarth – a Bermuda Triangle of sorts, fishermen would go out and return with no fish, other’s wouldn’t return at all. Tourists interested in the soft waters around the isle, in the way they shone like sapphires, would venture out to explore the island - few would survive the fierce waves that surrounded it. 

The waves were certainly not shining like sapphire now, instead they were black and dark against the murky rocks Tarth was composed of. It scared him. The darkness. But as lighting cracked on the horizon and thunder rolled across the sky, he saw it as his only shelter. 

The boat surged forwards, carried by the engine but also by the sheer force of the waves behind it. Renly regretted ever leaving the comfort of the Café. He was soaking, his hair sticking to the sides of his face, water dripping into the eyes, running along his body, making his hands stiff and numb from the cold. 

The panic only started to set in when he saw the rocks that guarded the shore line. The night sky had very little light to offer, save for the moon, which gave more of a haunting glow to the island than any form of solace or assistance. He looked behind him, but all he saw was brief glimmers of light of the darkness of the sea. This was the only way to go.

He said a little prayer, Stannis would be proud.

As he grew close he almost made it, almost passed the rocks before snagging them, almost managed to regain control of the boat as the hull shattered beneath him, almost managed to stop himself falling into the waves.

He latched onto a rock desperately. Panicked. He felt the waves tug on his legs. Mini whirlpools formed around the rocks, sucking him under. The ripped the rock from his grip. As the waves crashed around him, and the thunder trembled in the sky, he was pulled under the water.

He scrambled trying to find something to hold onto, to pull himself back up. He found purchase on something soft, warm almost. But the cold water of the ocean quickly knocked the fight out of him, stealing the air from his lungs. He felt himself go limp and fall into the sea.

In the brief moment before his death, he saw something, as the moonlight filtered in through the waves, small shots of gold and green flicked past his vision, they approached him. It was the last thing he saw before the cold reclaimed him, and the ocean swallowed him. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Loras sighed, the water around him grew choppy and loud as the storm above began to hit the sea around Tarth harder, he hated swimming in storms – almost as much as he hated guard duty. It was supposed to be an honour, to guard the ancient secrets buried on the island, but it carried very little enjoyment, especially as he knew the rest of the Pod were out on the waves this full moon.

He began to swim to the surface, to see if the waves were going to calm anytime soon. That was when he saw the dark figure resting on the water. It wasn’t a fish hanging in the ocean and it wasn’t a rock, it was definitely something lying across the top of the waves. He squinted as he grew closer, trying to make out what the strange object was, there was a distinct hum coming from it. 

He pushed himself upwards, his tail struggling through the storm wrought waters. Then he heard the waves crash, a loud splash as something fell into the sea. Bubbles and flailing limbs surrounded him, something grabbed onto his arm, dragging him down. It grabbed and grasped before eventually going limp. As the bubbles cleared Loras tried to get a better look at the creature disappearing towards the ocean floor. 

It was a boy, a human boy. 

He was broad shouldered, not at all like the sleek forms of the mermen Loras knew - but it just made him sink faster. Loras watched his drifting form, an internal struggle inside him, he wanted to save the boy, wanted to reach out for him. But he couldn’t, he knew the law, humans that came too close to the island were to drown, he’d seen his father drown dozens, his mother even more.

He watched the mop of black hair surge around his face, before it was pulled back by the water. Loras notice how handsome the boy was, a strong jaw and defined features, yet while his eyes were closed he looked innocent, scared almost, as he descended into the darkness. 

Loras remembered the force and panic behind the grip as he had fallen in, he couldn’t watch this boy die. 

He quickly dived down, following the boy. His form hit the sand on the bottom of the ocean softy, lying still. Loras gripped his arm, he was as heavy as he looked, and began the struggle of returning him to the surface. He swam as fast as he could, the waves and the weight not making it easy. 

He breached the surface, trying to hold the boy’s face above the waves as he dragged him to shore – humans definitely did breath weirdly. He flapped his tail as he pushed himself forward, allowing the waves to crash around him.

He nimbly skimmed through the rocks with practiced ease, the boy slowed him down somewhat forcing him to keep both of their heads above the water as he swam. As he reached the shore, he dragged the boy’s still body up onto the sand. He was safe now.

He swam back out to sea, searching for the boy’s vessel – so he would have a way to return to the main land. He found it not far off the shore, pulling it to the sand. 

Loras knew what he should do, he should swim back into the ocean, leave him there and forget about him – but he wanted one closer look. He dragged himself onto the sand, letting the waves wash him up next to the boy. 

He pulled the boy into his arms, cradling him as Loras admired him in the moonlight. The soft curves of his face, mixed with the hardness of his jaw. The way his hair shone against the paleness of his skin. He stroked his face, eliciting some form of response as the boy moved into the warmth. Tenderly he stroked the hair off his forehead, tucking it behind his ear. Humans were strange creatures, but this one was beautiful. 

What Loras was most fascinated in was his legs, he’d never seen a proper human before, his parents had warned him against straying too close to the mainland, and he’d never seen one walk on Tarth; he’d only seen the ships before their crew were drowned. 

‘You really are handsome aren’t you?’ he whispered into the night, mesmerized by this foreigner. 

The boy stirred at his words. His eyelids fluttering as he drew in breath, before opening all together. Loras froze – he wasn’t supposed to be seen, but he didn’t want to leave – not until he was sure the boy was alright.

The boy sighed as he regained consciousness, his brows furrowing as he took in Loras - the shirtless boy before him, stretched out on the sand, with gills etched into his neck and a tail in place of legs.

‘What happened?’ he choked out, looking down further at whose arms he was cradled in ‘what are you?’

‘My name is Loras’ he replied, ‘you fell into the water,’ he said softly, allowing magic to flow into his words and calm the boy . ‘And who are you?’ he asked, watching the boy’s face begin to slip into the merman’s magic, to fall into sleep.

‘I’m Renly,’ he yawned, ‘thank you for saving me,’ he said his eyes fluttering on the borders of sleep.

‘You’re welcome,’ he replied, he wanted to carry on speaking to this boy, to Renly. He was glorious, gloriously human and gloriously beautiful, unlike anything he had seen before. Harder and stronger and broader than any merman or mermaid in the pod. But he couldn’t risk this boy knowing about his kind, he couldn’t kill him or let him die, but he had to do something. ‘You need to forget me now Renly, is that okay?’ 

‘Why? I just met you,’ he said through his drowsy state 

‘I’m sorry, it’s too dangerous,’ he pushed the hair of his for head again, leaning down. He had been taught very few ways to remove memories, and only one left the mind intact.

He took in a breath, a pressed his lips against Renly’s. They felt soft against his and the taste of salt water on them made them familiar - he had expected something hard, something foreign - like the boy himself, but was happily surprised. Renly’s eyes opened in shock breaking the calmness, before he closed them again, and began to lean into the kiss.

Loras had to pull away, his magic done - it was only supposed to be a peck, but he already made it more than that. He hadn’t wanted it to end.

The boy smiled, before the magic properly took hold and he fell asleep.

Loras kissed his forehead, a light kiss before whispering ‘goodbye,’ 

He then made his way back towards the ocean, only looking back once before he dived in and a second after he was fully submerged. 

He had only been out of Renly’s company for a few moments and not only did he miss this stranger, but he also felt a surge of guilt in him, he should never have allowed himself to be seen. He would have to tell Margaery, to alleviate some of his conscious. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Renly’s mouth felt dry as he woke up, but the rest of him felt gritty. The sun was warm evaporating the salt water on him in the early morning leaving a fine film of salt on his skin and in his hair. 

He sat up, squinting as eyes adjusted to the light. 

Where was he? 

He stood up, looking out to sea. The sun shone on the water – it reminded him of sapphires. Tarth. The Sapphire Isle. But how the hell had he made it to Tarth without dying. He thought hard trying to remember. He remembered the storm, the rocks, the water flooding into the boat. 

He remembered drowning. But if he had drowned how was he alive now? Something tried to flash through his mind, a memory that he wasn’t allowed to remember, a shock of gold and green, swimming towards him. He remembered something pulling him out of the water, it had a tail, and it had hands.

A mermaid? But they were only in the legends of Tarth, they weren’t real. 

He gave up struggling for his memory, instead he focused on getting back, he may have made it to the island, but there was no way anyone else would. The rocks and the waves were far too dangerous. Yet as he looked out the sea, the waves were still, calmer than any at Ship Breaker Bay. The rocks too, now they had light on them, would be easy to get through.

Then how has no one made it to the Island and back again before? He thought to himself, this isle was a puzzle, one that perplexed him immensely. 

He found the boat tethered to a rock, someone had tied it there. But who? He surveyed it, it had taken minimal damage and only a little water remained inside – it wasn’t the safest, but it would have to do. 

Renly got in, and started the journey to Storm’s End with relative ease. For a stretch of sea that had killed hundreds, it felt wrong, very wrong, to simply ride back with barely any trouble. Yet there was something very wrong about this place and Renly was determined to find out what it was.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long, i'm heading off to uni soon (been super busy) not to mention i changed over laptops, i hope to be a more regular updater :)

Renly strode into the Café, he was probably late for his shift, but his watch was far to water logged to tell him how late.

He also probably looked a mess, covered in sand, hair still messed up by the ocean. He hated the idea of people seeing him when he didn’t look his best, but unfortunately the only way to get to his flat was to walk through the café as it sat above. He was thrilled Robert let him rent the place along with the Café’s manager, Brienne - but he hated that it felt like there was a café in his living room and he supposed there was to some extent.

‘Renly!’ he heard, Brienne came running towards him, ‘Renly are you okay?’ he walked shyly to the counter, aware of the customers eyes on him, he knew most of them; Storms End wasn’t that big of a town – which just made it more embarrassing ‘you never came home last night,’ she hugged him, before recoiling at his sight and smell ‘you look a mess, and smell like, like sea water?’ 

‘I’m fine, just a rough night,’ he shrugged, and it was true, the sleep on the beach had given him the worst sore back. But the real problem was being back at the café, the ideas of mermaids had kept his mind off thinking about why he’d left in the first place – the argument with Stannis – but being back where it happened brought that back. 

He never understood why Stannis was so harsh on him – why he seemed to truly hate him so much.

She opened he mouth to ask another question but Renly walked past, ignoring her, not in the mood to talk as he headed towards the back room.

There were a few sofas there, as well as a television for relaxing ‘in-between’ shifts. Stannis didn’t know about the back room.

Guyard was sat on one of the sofas, leaving Brienne to do most of the work even in Renly’s absence. He looked up when Renly entered the room.

‘I told her you’d be back soon, she was going mental,’ he smiled at Renly, taking a sip of a drink and putting his feet on the coffee table before shuffling over and making room for Renly. ‘So tell me, did you pull?’

‘What?’

‘Well I just assumed, I know what your like, go out all night, don’t come back until 3 o’clock in the afternoon’ he shrugged, an awkward smile on his face.

‘No, I just had an argument with ah – with Stannis, about the um Café,’ he looked to floor – still upset.

‘Oh sorry about that mate, look you know Stannis is a dick better than me, but I’m going to say it anyway – Stannis is a dick,’ that helped lift Renly’s mood a little, he laughed along with Guyard. ‘So where were you last night then?’

‘You know what, I had some trouble with the boat, if you can come and help me fix it, I’ll tell you where I was,’ he smiled knowing Guyard’s passion for both gossip and avoiding work were too strong to avoid his offer. 

‘Okay, that sounds like a deal,’ he chuckled, dragging himself from the sofa and brushing past Renly, ‘go have a shower mate, you stink,’ he laughed before walking back into the café. Brienne’s faint yells of where the hell have you been to Guyard could be heard as far as he headed towards the stairs and went to the flat. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   
‘A human boy?’ Margery whispered harshly, wanting to yell, but keeping her voice low for the sake of discretion, ‘Loras what on earth were you thinking?’ she looked at him with a mixture of anger and worry on her face. 

The pair sat together in one of the many pools that surrounded the edges of the island, accessible only by caves that ran deep beneath the ocean. Their heads were above water, but their bodies fully submerged. This pool was Loras and Margaery’s favourite, they had found it when they were children and if the rest of the pod even knew of its existence, they rarely used it. 

It was a secret place, a safe place.

‘I couldn’t let him die, Marg, you should have seen him, he looked so helpless,’ he pleaded, thinking back to the lifeless body that had fallen into the ocean. 

‘Loras it’s one thing to save the boy rather than kill him, but to bring him to the island,’ she sighed, exasperated, ‘what on earth were you thinking?’ 

His brows furrowed in anger, he was the older sibling, she shouldn’t be able to talk to him like he was a child.

‘I thought you would understand Margery, I thought I could tell you anything! But apparently not!’ he made to dive back into the water, but she grabbed his arm too quickly and pulled him back to her.

‘Loras, I’m just scared for what may happen to the pod, he could be dangerous,’ she sighed again as she let go of his arm, ‘what if he saw you? What if he comes back?’

‘He didn’t see me,’ he lied, ‘I made sure of that,’ he hated lying to her, but this seemed the easiest way of preventing her from telling the elders. She would keep secrets for him, but if they endangered the pod, that was where she started to draw the line. ‘I would like to see him again though,’ he smiled at her.

‘Was he truly so handsome, a human boy?’ she giggled, returning to the Margaery he loved. 

‘He was so different, so beautiful, I would give anything to see him again,’ Loras said wistfully as he looked away, his mind lingering on thoughts of his land boy, of Renly. 

‘Loras,’ Margaery warned.

‘I know it’s too dangerous,’ he raised his hands, defending himself, ‘I promise I won’t go looking,’ he wished he could promise that, but he knew it was another lie. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

The shower felt good, but clean clothes felt even nicer. He’d pulled on one of the Café t-shirts displaying the Storm’s End Cafe title and accompanying cartoon stag proudly and a pair of jeans. Nothing too fancy if they were going to be fixing the boat - he’d made the mistake of getting motor oil on some of his best shirts before, it was incredibly difficult to get off.

Thoughts of the boat led him to think of the night before. He tried desperately to remember what happened. No matter how far he scoured his memories, nothing came up, all he felt was a slight tingling on his lips. He brought his hand to his mouth. It was like having a first kiss with someone you loved. Pure. Innocent. 

He walked back down through the Café and sauntered over to the counter, intending to tell Brienne that he was going to have to skip his shift but planning to lay on the charm first so she wouldn’t be angry. Then he would beg her not to tell Stannis, but he was cut off in the middle of the Café by Sansa, Sansa Stark. 

‘Hi Renly!’ she said, a little too happily, ‘I saw you in your boat last night, it’s a lovely boat,’ she said, her excitement radiating through her voice as she spoke to him.

‘Hello Sansa, yeah it was Roberts, but he doesn’t really use it very much anymore,’ he trailed off, scratching his neck.

‘So how are you today?’ Renly started to reply, but was cut off with incredible speed, ‘It’s lovely weather isn’t it, i mean compared to the storm yesterday, it’s still a little cold. I was thinking of going down to the beach, would you like to come with me? Maybe we could take your boat out,’ she almost squealed.

‘It’s broken, and I just need to get, get around, to speak to Brienne, bye’ he said shuffling around her. He could already imagine how he face would have fallen, but didn’t want to look back knowing he’d be sucked into another one of her one hour one sided conversations.

He walked over to Brienne, leaning on the counter and letting out a sigh of relief. She shook her head in exasperation at him, Guyard laughed, he always laughed. 

Sinking further down in an attempt to avoid Sansa’s gaze, Guyard clapped him on the back before leaning over and whispering in his ear.

‘Just tell her you’re gay mate,’ before chuckling. Renly swatted him away.

‘I did! Or I least I think I did, either way she has to know, I’m not exactly subtle about it,’ he scoffed.

‘I think she’s just in denial,’ Brienne said, before blushing slightly and turning her head away from Renly. 

‘Nah he’s nowhere near handsome enough for her to keep on trying, maybe she’s just really desperate,’ Guyard laughed, Renly looked at him, raising a hand to his chest in mock offence.

‘Oh honey, if she was desperate she’d go for you,’ Guyard shook his head, trying to find a comeback.

‘Then you can fix your boat by yourself,’ he said turning his head away.

‘No no no! Please you know I’m bad with boats,’ he begged.

‘Renly, mate you’re bad with everything that isn’t making coffee and chatting up the fellas,’ Renly made a puppy face, widening his eyes. Guyard merely huffed. ‘Fine, I’ll help, let’s go!’ Renly pushed off the counter and Guyard made his way to the other side.

‘Where are you two going?’ she said over the till, ‘I would like to remind you, you’re both paid to work here,’

‘Please Brienne I just need to fix the boat, don’t tell Stannis please, pretty please,’ he said before winking, she blushed and shooed them out with a quiet ‘fine’ as she went back to organising the till. 

The Café overlooked the ocean on cliff just above ship breaker bay, it was the most popular sun bathing spot, but didn’t really attracted many tourists this time of year, it was too cold for holiday makers and those that were visiting their families for Christmas had already left. Several locals still milled about on the beach, mainly kids. The docks were just a few sets of stairs away. 

The Lady Cassanna was tied up a few boats down. It displayed a few rough cracks in the side and engine that sputtered weirdly if you went to fast – but that wasn’t really a new development. By some miracle he’d managed to get it back to the dock before it died completely. 

Renly had lied to Sansa when he’d said this had been Robert’s boat, it had been, but it had been his father’s first, named after his mother – it was one of the few things he had left of them.

‘Jesus Renly! What happened to it?’ Guyard asked drawing closer to the boat, he knelt down inspecting the hull.

‘That’s what I was going to tell you, I got caught in the storm last night,’ 

‘Is that why you didn’t come back?’ he looked up from the boat, ‘but where were you?’

‘That’s the strange bit, I woke up on Tarth,’ Renly leant on the white fence that ran along the edge of the docks, watching as Guyard took his story in.

‘Tarth!?’ he all be yelled, ‘the cursed isle,’ he mocked, ‘how did you end up there? No one makes it to Tarth, let alone spends an entire night and they especially don’t make it back,’ 

‘The last thing I remember is falling in, and then I woke up on the Island, it was like something saved me,’ he said, looking down into the water, no longer sure that it was just fish that swam in it. 

‘Something saved you? Like what?’

‘Do you think there might be,’ he paused, trying not to sound as stupid as he felt, ‘mermaids, on Tarth?’

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Loras had promised he wouldn’t look for Renly again to his sister, but that had already been a lie. 

That morning he woken earlier than the others and travelled to the stretch of shore he had left him on. He’d crept between the rocks and watched the land boy sleep, watched him as he regained consciousness and found his boat. If he had been handsome at night, he was even more so now. Loras had underestimated his height, and he was far stronger than he had seemed – managing to pull the boat free of its trappings with very little effort. 

He wanted to reach out and say something, but was already predicting Margaery’s reaction and words of warning – after their conversation in the pool, he had been right. 

Instead he followed Renly, only a little way out, just to see which dock he made port at – he hadn’t even ventured too close to the shore – but he wished he had, even to just experience a little bit of the world Renly came from.

That was how he found himself back there now. His conversation with Margery had done little to sway him from the idea of seeing Renly again – he’d never even seen a human properly bar the shaky outlines of the ones the pod kept away from Tarth – they were so strange.

He didn’t know how he planned to find Renly, it was pure chance that he was walking along the docks as Loras swam up next to them, as if he had been drawn to them at this point in time for some reason. He was with someone else, they were next to a boat, the boat Renly had been in last night. 

He couldn’t hear him, he could barely see him through the thick, murky water surrounding the dock. He had never seen water this dirty, rubbish floating in it. Was this what humans did to the ocean?

He pushed his head out of the water, hiding behind the pillars of the pier. He could hear Renly’s thick voice. It sounded less sleepy now. It sounded enchanting. 

The conversation wasn’t important, just hearing him speak was good enough for Loras, a peak into this boy’s world. That was until one word made him jump, something he shouldn’t be saying.

‘Do you think there might be, mermaids, on Tarth?’ 

Mermaids. That word.

He was supposed to forget. 

Loras could feel himself begin to panic. He wasn’t supposed to know. What if he endangered the pod? He had endangered the pod. All for some stupid boy, some gorgeous boy. 

‘When the boats fixed, we should head out to Tarth, if I saw what I know I saw then we’ll find something,’ he sounded determined. 

‘But how will we get there without dying? Renly this is insane,’ 

‘Trust me Guyard, I know a way,’ 

He was going to Tarth. He wouldn’t just find Loras. He would find the entire pod. That was if he wasn’t murdered by them first. He couldn’t risk him coming to Tarth, but he didn’t want him to die either, especially not chasing dreams of Loras. 

There was only one thing left for Loras to do, he had to make sure that contraption, that boat was never fixed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renly is an idiot, and Loras needs to stop being an angry little pumpkin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> argh I'm sorry It has been literally almost a year D: I started uni and stuff, but then a friend reminded me of this and I was like can I really pick it up after so long, but I decided to so yay here it is (I hope it's not awful)

_He was going to Tarth. He wouldn’t just find Loras. He would find the entire pod._

_There was only one thing left for Loras to do, he had to make sure that boat was never fixed._

 

Loras splashed back into the water, the light glinting of his tail as he swam at breakneck speed back to Tarth. He had to tell Margaery she’d know what to do.

 

He found her in their pool, reclining into the rocks and seaweed around her. Yet as she heard his hurried entrance, her eyes snapped open, a look of worry deep set into them. She knew, of course she knew what he’d done.

 

‘Loras what’s wrong?’ she asked, seeing the exasperated look on his face.

 

‘He knows, he’s coming here, he’s coming to Tarth, he’ll either find us, or the others will kill him, people are going to die Marg and it’s all my fault’ he spilled out, speaking faster than Margaery could listen.

 

Loras could feel tears start to prick in his eyes, he was determined not to let Margaery see, but she was already starting to draw him in for a hug. He started crying into her shoulder.

 

‘What have I done? I’ve put the whole pod in danger,’ he choked out. She stroked his hair, shushing him.   _He’d put Renly in danger. He’d just wanted to save him._

 

‘He’s not here yet, he hasn’t seen you properly, and we can still stop this,’ she said soothingly.

 

‘How?’ he said pulling his face away from her shoulder. His eyes were wide with tears and he had his eyebrows drawn together in worry.

 

She looked into them, a smile forming on her face. The cunning smile, the one she used to outwit our brothers.

 

‘You know what happens when a mermaid steps on land, right?’ she was confident, she had a plan.

 

Margaery always had a plan, some sneaky way around the Elders to get what she wanted, to protect Loras. She may have been the younger sister, but Loras needed her more than anything else in the world.

 

‘Yes,’

 

‘Then we need to get to land, we’re going to stop that boy from coming here, we’re going to keep us, _and him_ safe,’

 

Loras leant into her arms, feeling safe in them.

 

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Guyard had had a good look at the boat, but decided he needed more time before he could fix it, possibly even a few spare parts before the job would be done properly.

 

Renly had tried to put up a fuss

 

_Could you not look at it for a few more minutes? I_ need _to get back to Tarth, I need to show you what I saw._ I need to show you I’m not insane.

 

_I work in a café, I’m not a boat mechanic._ He’d reminded Renly. _I’ll try my best, but I’m making no promises. Also I think you need a good sleep before you go anywhere near Tarth, this almost as bad as when Robert took you on that three day bender and you started seeing little green children in the forest and trees that smiled at you._ Guyard had laughed at himself for that, before speedily dashing back to the café. It was lunch time after all, even out of tourist season there would be several locals demanding their usual and Brienne wouldn’t be able to take care of all of them.

 

Renly stood on the docks, looking down at his little Lady Cassana. Stannis would be livid; he had always been annoyed that Renly had been gifted the boat by Robert. It was one of the few reminders that they’d had parents. Robert on the other hand, when he returned from his 3 week drinking binge, would probably be sad. But only for a brief moment before he returned to the pub.

 

The excitement of Renly’s findings had drifted away now. He rubbed his face, ran his fingers through his hair – questioned his sanity. He knew he saw something. He knew something saved him. There was no way that much damage could have happened to the boat without him drowning.

 

‘What happened there Renly?’ it was Ned, one of Robert’s oldest friends. 

 

The question dragged Renly from his thoughts, as he turned to face Ned.

 

‘Just an accident in the storm last night,’ he answered wistfully, with little commitment.

 

‘Seems like a pretty nasty one, you sure you’re alright Renly,’ concern filled his voice.

 

‘Yeah, I’m fine thanks Uncle Ned,’ he smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

 

‘I don’t know how you Baratheons do it, you always seem to stay strong no matter what hits you,’ he laughed it off, but there was some truth in his words.

 

Their parents had died, Robert had lost his one true love, Stannis had had countless miscarriages, yet they hadn’t stopped fighting.

 

There was a pause, it was slightly awkward -  Renly staring at the boat and Ned staring at him.

 

‘I’m headed off to the pub to stop your brother drinking himself to death,’ he said, breaking the silence, ‘you’re welcome to join me if you’d like,’

 

‘No thanks Uncle Ned, I have a café I should get back to,’ he smiled at him, hoping that maybe Brienne would be able to cure his insanity, or if not her she’d have some coffee do the job instead.

 

‘Of course, always the dutiful manager,’ he said beginning to walk off the docks. He’d gotten a considerable way before turning back and shouting ‘Renly, you’re always welcome to borrow my boat if you need to until yours gets fixed, Sansa knows where the keys are,’

 

Renly felt a small smile make its way onto his face, it wouldn’t be long before he could see the island again, before he could see the creature again.

 

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

 

The beach was strange underfoot. Under _foot_. Loras had never had feet, never stood upright. Although he was hardly standing upright now, more curved and wobbling.

 

‘I don’t know how these humans do it,’ Margaery gasped, grabbing hold of his arm to steady herself. But rather than steadying, she sent them both crashing to the floor, she laughed at him as sand was sent flying around them. ‘Legs are hard,’ she kicked more sand up in his face, before he grabbed a handful and threw it at her. An honest attempt at trying to walk dissolving into a sand fight.

 

Loras tried to pull himself back up, struggling to his feet.

 

‘A little practice and we’ll be ready in no time,’ he laughed, forgetting the direness of the situation that brought them to land in the first place.

 

He looked down at his legs, really looked at them. They were so strange, smooth skin rather than scales, and riddled with hair, much finer than Renly’s. They didn’t reflect the light like his tail had. They were more boring in appearance, but so much more complex. On the ends of his legs were feet, and then ends of his feet were toes - there were so many parts.

 

He pictured Renly’s – they had seemed so much larger, thick with muscles underneath the skin.

 

In-between his thighs he felt so exposed, not hidden between the folds of his scales like he had been before. He wanted to cover himself.

 

‘So all we need to do is to go back to the water and we’ll have our tails back again,’ Margaery said, attempting to pull herself back to her feet, ‘let’s make this quick, I’m not enjoying,’ she gestured to her lower body ‘this,’ there was a mild look of disgust on her face, Margaery had never found much enjoyment in the human world, not like Loras had.

 

He on the other hand wore a ginormous grin as he stood up from the sand.

 

He brushed himself off, the sand sticking to the wetness of his skin. He felt like he was missing something, he definitely hadn’t seen Renly as bare as this when he’d saved him - although he wished he had.

 

‘Loras,’ Margaery called, pointing to the sharp cliff rise that stood next to the bay, ‘why are those people staring at us?’

 

There was a small gathering atop the cliff, maybe 2 or 3 looking down at them. They were far away but Loras could just make out a few stifling giggles and others whispering.

 

They weren’t bare either, they were wearing _things_ on themselves.

 

One of the people atop the cliff was far bolder than the others. He cupped his hands around his mouth before yelling down some loud and boisterous remark.

 

‘This ain’t a nudist beach, you need clothes love, although we ain’t complaining,’ another clapped him on the back in congratulations.

 

Loras didn’t see why they found nudity so fascinating. They were all the same underneath whatever they wore, weren’t they?

 

It was Margaery that insisted they find ‘clothes’ – she hated being stared at like the catch of the day, saying _the Pod have far more respect for mermaids Loras, that’s all_.

 

They didn’t have to travel far. The area of the bay they had washed ashore on had been close to the docks. The same docks that he had seen Renly _and_ Renly’s boat on.

 

After sneaking along, hiding themselves as best they could, they stumbled on another boat, one that held clothes, or at least what Loras assumed were clothes, all pegged to a line – as though they were there to be taken.

 

The jumper he picked was surprisingly comfortable and far warmer than being naked even if it was a little oversized, swamping him in its green woolen fabric. He could get used to jumpers, they were much softer than the coarse sea water that usually clothed him.

 

They stood on a dry portion of sand covered land underneath the docks, hiding from the world as they got dressed. It was dark under here, and whispers of conversations drifted through the wooden boards above.

 

‘Urgh this is so itchy,’ Margaery declared, scratching profusely at the top she was wearing, ‘this had better not take long Loras,’

 

‘I promise it won’t,’ it was at that moment that Loras realised he had told Margaery his first lie – he wanted this to take days, weeks – he wanted to see Renly, that night on the island he had tried to use magic on the land boy, but there was some other magic now drawing him towards him.  

 

‘I made a plan on the way over here,’ she stated, swatting bits of hair out of her face.

 

‘How come you get to come up with the plan?’ he asked indignantly.

 

‘Because I didn’t get us into this mess brother,’ she laughed, ‘and have you got any plan you’d like to share,’ she crossed her arms playfully. Loras scrunched up his face as a reply, turning away from her. ‘I thought not,’

 

‘So my plan!’ she paused ‘You can find the boat, and look into destroying it so he can’t return,’ Loras nodded, ‘and I will go and look for this handsome, Renly, did you say it was, to try and persuade him he saw nothing,’

 

‘How come you get to persuade Renly? I’ve already done that before; I know how his mind works! And I know nothing about boats!’ Loras retorted, redness rising to his face.

 

‘Well if you really knew how his mind worked, we wouldn’t be in this mess would we?’ the words were exasperated, like she was playing on repeat, ‘and I don’t know how boats work either, but at least you’ve see one!’

 

‘Fine!’ he yelled, before turning his back and storming off. His feet pounded into the sand, large clumps getting stuck between his toes.

 

_Why did Margaery have to make the plan? Why was Margaery so brilliant? Why did Margaery get to see him again?_

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Renly leaned over the counter of the Café, watching the sun slowly begin to set, and feeling his eyelids begin to drop as it got lower and lower.

 

He’d come back shortly after Guyard, and told him all about his plans to sail off in Sansa Stark’s boat, Guyard had giggled and called him insane, but seemed happy that the pressure to fix his wasn’t quite as high as it had been before.

 

Brienne had made him that cup of coffee, and a few more after, but demanded that his absence that morning and that afternoon meant he had to work into the evening – Renly hated evening shifts, almost as much as he hated working the morning and afternoon ones. 

 

He had almost fallen asleep, when the door swung open, smashing into the wall next to and jerking Renly awake from his sleep. He looked up, but heard who it was before he could see the face.

 

‘RENLY!’ boomed Stannis, a look of pure rage furrowing deep into his forehead.

 

Thank goodness it was 5 o’clock and few people were in the Café, the embarrassment of another public argument would have left Renly god knows where this time, as if Tarth wasn’t bad enough.

 

‘What an earth did you do to that boat!’ Stannis was making his way closer to the counter. Renly backed away slightly.

 

‘Look Stannis, it was, it was an accident, I’ve …’

 

‘Of course, everything is a bloody accident with you Renly,’ he reached the counter now, continuing to yell as he slammed his fists onto it. The customers that weren’t looking before, were definitely looking now. ‘I don’t why the hell our stupid brother gave you that goddamn boat, its not as if it was the last thing…’

 

‘Yes, yes, yes I know, the last thing that Dad gave to Mum,’ he interjected, trying to calm his brother down, ‘But don’t worry, I’ve already god someone working on it right now,’

 

‘Don’t worry, Renly I gave up worrying about you years ago,’ his voice was calm, but there was a venom behind them, ‘and if that boat isn’t fixed, I swear to god Renly, I don’t know what’ll happen to you’ 

 

He said nothing else before making a swift exit, shutting the door quietly behind him.

 

Renly grasped for the phone his pocket, calling Guyard.

 

‘Excuse me,’ someone was standing in front of the counter, a small girl, pretty, and eerily familiar, ‘ are you …’

 

‘I’m sorry, we’re not serving anymore anything tonight,’ she looked taken aback, confused almost ‘but if you’re really desperate, there is a slightly subpar diner just around the corner, The Rock and Castle, not to far at all,’

 

She tutted before leaving but he was too busy waiting for Guyard to answer the phone to care.

 

‘What do you want?’ he answered flatly.

 

‘We need to look at the boat. Tonight’

 

‘But why?’ he whined ‘I though you could use your new girlfriends boat,’

 

‘Stannis found out’

 

‘Shit’

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Loras was taking his time as he walked down the docks, still reeling from his argument with Margaery. They never argued. They just didn’t.

 

His feet trailed behind him as he looked at each boat in turn, trying to find the one he’d seen Renly pull from the rocks. Then he spotted it. It looked like many of the boats on the docks, white, small, an engine at the back, soft interior seating, but this had severe damage to the front. It had to be the one.

 

He needed to break it, well, more that it was already broken. He needed to really break it, cause irreparable damage. Maybe he could just set it free? Left it drift out to the ocean?

 

He walked closer to it. Leaning down to place his hands along the side. It was small, clinging to the dock with a few pieces of fraying rope. The boat looked old, well-loved.

 

He knelt - admiring the cursive that ran along the edge.

 

_The Lady Cassana_

 

Was that it’s name? It was beautiful. Much like it’s captain.

 

Loras ran his hands over the hull, small amounts of the paint peeling off into his hands. It was a tired contraption that smelt of driftwood rather than the motor oil coming of the newer boats. Yet it was so very beautiful. He didn’t know if he could bring himself to destroy such a rugged little boat.

 

‘Can I help you?’ the voice was deep and husky, almost familiar.

 

Still kneeling on the floor, Loras turned. He looked up to see him. _Renly._ It was strange seeing him this close after looking from afar. He seemed broader somehow, blocking out the remnants of the sun. The light filtered through his hair, much like it filtered from the ocean surface.

 

He wore a casual smile on his face, Loras almost melted at that smile.

 

‘Are you okay?’ he asked, brows drawing together.

 

Loras shook himself out of his daze.

 

‘Yes, I’m fine, I was just um, I was just…’ he gestured to the boat, swallowing the lump in his throat, unable to speak. It had been easier on the island, when he knew Renly wouldn’t remember. Now he felt more awkward and less magical. Being human made him feel clunky, drowning in unnecessary limbs.

 

‘You were just?’ Renly asked smiling through his words.

 

‘I was just looking at the boat,’ Loras looked away from Renly, towards the boat again, ‘it’s very beautiful,’ he risked another glance. He was here now, he was - to some extent -human, but it still felt strangely forbidden.

 

He shouldn’t be here; he shouldn’t be talking to him. He didn’t belong.

 

But as he let his thoughts wander into guilt, Renly gave him a hand. Loras held it gingerly pulling himself off the dock floor. His hand was a lot softer then expected, a contrast to the hardness of the rest of his body.

 

‘She’s a little broken at the moment I’m afraid,’ he sighed, ‘she won’t be making any trips for a while’

 

‘A bit broken!’ piped another voice from behind Renly, Loras recognized this one from the docks, ‘that’s a fucking understatement mate,’ he clapped Renly on the back, before squeezing past Loras to look at _The Lady Cassana._

 

‘What happened?’ Loras asked, avoiding Renly’s gaze, focusing on the boat instead.

 

‘Took a tumble on the rocks at Tarth, bloody dangerous things’ Renly laughed, the other man gave him turned to squint hatefully at him, ‘Guyard here isn’t to impressed by the mess I made of my boat,’

 

‘Only because I have to fix it, and maybe you should take the mess you made of this boat as a lesson to _not go back!_ ’ he turned back to the boat, carrying on his inspection.

 

‘I hear the waters of Tarth are cursed,’ Loras said quietly. Renly turned to him, brows furrowed in curiosity ‘apparently something lives there,’ he paused ‘something that doesn’t like to be disturbed,’

 

‘Something lives there? Like what?’ he rushed out, eyes erratic.

 

‘Oh god, not another one who believes in mermaids, maybe you should start a club’ Guyard said, a note of exasperation in his voice. ‘Any way, you won’t be getting there in this boat any time soon, Renly you’re going to need a proper mechanic for this one mate,’

 

‘Yeah sure, whatever’ he said dismissing Guyard as he packed his tools away, focusing to intently on Loras.

 

‘So what is it?’

 

‘Does it matter what kind of creature?’ Loras answered shortly, anger rising in his voice. How could someone be stupid, so foolish to return to an island that nearly killed them, that would have killed them if it hadn’t been for him.

 

It’s just not many other people talk about a something living there,’ Renly leaned in. Loras looked at his face, his beautiful face. Soft and open, eyes full of curiosity, like a child with the same brightness behind them, but set deep within the face of a man. Mermaids weren’t like him, weren’t as broad, weren’t as strong, weren’t as curious. Loras looked away.

 

‘Call me superstitious, but I think you should stay away, if that can happen’ he gestured to the boat, before making to leave, hoping that his fear would scare Renly, stop him from coming, from either dying or exposing Loras and all of his family. Renly grabbed his arm as he started to walk away. He could feel the strength of his hand through his jumper, as it pushed the fabric closer to his skin.

 

‘It didn’t hurt _me_ though, whatever’s down there’ _no I didn’t hurt him, Loras could never hurt him, someone so beautifully fool hardy, someone so beautiful._ ‘I’m just curious is all’, he laughed it off again.

 

‘Don’t go back, it’s not a good idea. Anyway, I need to go,’

 

‘Wait, wait. I know you know something about what’s down there, have you seen it? Do you know someone whose seen it?’

 

‘What do you not understand about what I’m saying,’ he was an idiot, a strong-willed utterly idiotic moron.

 

‘Look I work in Storm’s End Café, on the top of the cliff, if you ever feel like telling me what you know, I’m there all the time,’ he was really desperate.

 

Loras shook him off, huffing as he continued down the dock, a scowl taking shape on his face. It was almost as though Renly didn’t want to be saved. _That’s all he wanted to do, save the fool, the fool with those beautiful eyes, and thick arms, and strong legs, and hair seeming to line every piece of…_ Loras scolded himself.

 

He didn’t have anything to worry about though, like his friend had said, he wouldn’t be getting to the island in _that_ boat anytime soon. Loras just had to hope that by the time it was fixed Renly had reassessed the value of his life. _Idiot_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goddamit Renly!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> : ) I hope you like it

Loras waited underneath the docks they had washed up on that morning for Margery to arrive. He sat in the sand, wanting to dip his toes into the water but knowing he’d transform prematurely, and that would only be another thing Margery would be angry with him about. 

It didn’t feel like it took long for her to arrive, but to Loras, time seemed to pass quicker on the surface, there were so many new things to look at here. 

The sand muffled her approach, but he heard as she sat down next to him. He turned is gaze to her. She looked worried, more worried than she had before, if that was at all possible. 

‘How did it go?’ he asked, it was more of a curtesy, her face already giving away the true answer. 

‘Not well, I didn’t even get to talk to him, he just ignored me. He’s rude that one I’ll tell you,’ she paused, looking out to the sea. It really was beautiful, the setting sun glinting over the water as it dipped lower and lower. ‘How was it for you, manage to destroy a boat?’

‘I didn’t get a chance to go near it, by the time I’d found the right one he turned up,’ Loras shrugged.

‘So? Did you speak to him? What did you say?’ she pressed, growing closer to him.  
‘Nothing,’ 

‘Loras! I know you, and I know you would have spoken to him. Please brother, just tell me,’

‘I just told him something was on the island was all, something he should stay away from’ he focused his eyes to the floor, distancing himself from the conversation. 

‘Loras that’s the opposite of what we need to do,’ her eyebrows were drawn together in exasperation.

‘Why? Why is it so wrong? What should I have done Margery?’ he raised his voice. He hated raising his voice at her.

‘Don’t get angry with me Loras! This is your mess! All you’ve done is encourage him to go back to Tarth!’ 

‘Well I’m sorry, you were supposed to stop him, I was supposed to destroy the boat,’

‘Well it was more important to stop him,’ 

‘Why?’ 

‘Because I don’t know he might be able to get another boat, I’ve seen more than one of those machines before, and there are hundreds up there,’

‘I’m sorry,’ he said quietly, head facing the sand, before he turned to look up at Margery. ‘I just don’t want him to die, not because of me,’ his eyes were big and wide, almost spilling with tears. 

‘Oh, Loras, you tried you really did, but maybe, maybe it’s time to stop’ she threw her arms around him, pulling him in for a tight hug. It wasn’t the same as normal, not with all the layers of clothing between them, yet she comforted him all the same. ‘You’ve already saved him once,’ she whispered over his shoulder, ‘maybe this is how it’s supposed to be,’

Loras broke away from the embrace, looking at her straight in the eye, determined. 

‘No I won’t accept that, I can’t Marg, I just can’t,’

‘But Loras, you have to think of your family, you can’t let this man come to the island, he’ll find us, and what will happen then?’

‘I don’t know and I don’t care, I’m going to make my own plan Marg, maybe I don’t need your help for this one’ he wasn’t angry anymore just desperate. 

He walked towards the ocean, Margery chasing after him, screaming his name. 

And Loras did have a plan, if he couldn’t stop Renly, he could at least protect him, at least what over him until he no longer wanted to return.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

‘Maybe Jeyne could come as well, like a double date,’ suggested Sansa.

‘Oh I didn’t realise you liked Jeyne in that way,’ Guyard chuckled, earning a swat from Renly.

‘What?’ she stared at him, her face puzzled.

‘Oh nothing,’ Guyard answered, before turning back into the kitchen. 

Sansa came in everyday at a maximum of 20 to 30 minutes for her mid-morning coffee before Jeyne dragged her away from her drooling, but today she had been here nearly an hour. Renly had only mentioned of the cuff about borrowing her fathers boat before it had escalated, quickly. 

‘It can’t be a double date with five people anyway,’ Renly replied, wiping down the counter. 

‘Five?’ questioned Sansa.

‘You’re not still going on about him are you Ren,’ Guyard shouted as he poked his head around the kitchen door.

‘Who?’ 

‘Some guy Renly met down at the docks, reckons he knows all about mermaids,’ he said before disappearing. 

‘Some guy you met at the docks, does he not have a name?’ Sansa chuckled.

Renly hadn’t thought to ask for his name. Nor where he lived, or who he was. But he knew he was telling the truth, and somehow he knew that he’d see him again. Days had passed with him staring at the door, waiting for him to come through. He’d imagined it sometimes, that door opening and him being behind it, ready to take him to Tarth and tell him he wasn’t crazy. 

It wasn’t until he was in the Kitchen washing up plates that he heard it, that voice. 

Excuse me, is Renly here. It was little more than a nervous whisper, but it made him shiver none the less. 

He tried not to look to excited when he turned through the door, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He was here.

‘Yeah Renly’s just through...’ Brienne started, pointing towards the door that Renly had just emerged from.

‘Hi, it’s me, I’m here,’ it came out in such a rush. He had already failed task one – keeping excitement in check.

‘Hello, I just wanted to talk about Tarth, maybe helping you or something, I don’t really know,’ his eyes were focused down, not looking at Renly. He was talking in almost a whisper, as though he was afraid to speak to Renly.

‘Of course, that’s brilliant, thank you so much for coming,’ Renly walked around the counter, ‘if you just take a seat, I can make us some tea and we can have a chat,’ he said guiding him towards a table. 

‘Thank you,’ he said quietly, before looking at the chair a little blankly, and eventually pulling it out to sit on. 

‘What’s your name by the way? I don’t think I caught it before,’

This was the first time he looked up at him, meeting his eyes. Renly was breath taken, they were beautiful, he was beautiful. Curls framed his face so delicately, and the little light that came in through the windows seemed to dance among them. He was so different to anything he had seen in costal town before, yet he he seemed all to familiar.

‘Loras, my name is Loras,’

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you like this - if you do maybe leave some kudos or the odd cheeky comment ;)


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